1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of a defroster nozzle for an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional defroster nozzle for an automotive vehicle is exemplified by Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Open No. Sho. 59-18,073.
FIGS. 3 through 6 show this typical, conventional defroster.
FIG. 3 is a front view thereof, FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing how it is installed in the vehicle, and FIG. 6 is a diagram of the inside of a windshield with the defroster nozzle working in defrost mode.
In these Figures, the symbol N denotes a whole defroster nozzle, numeral 1 denotes a nozzle outlet, numeral 2 denotes a connection of the nozzle outlet 1 with a heater unit U, i.e., air conditioner, and numeral 3 denotes a duct directing air flow from the heater unit U to the nozzle outlet 1 via the connection 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle outlet 1 comprises a total of five nozzle ports aligned laterally across a dashboard just below a windshield 10. Numeral 4 denotes recesses between each nozzle port. As shown in FIG. 5, the recesses 4 provide room for the attachments T of an instrument panel P to a vehicle body 5. The above-described attachments T each of them comprises: a first bracket 6 attached to a dash panel, i.e., vehicle body 5, a second bracket 7 integral with the instrument panel P, and a mounting screw 8 by which the first and second brackets 6, 7 are fixed together. It should be noted that the defroster nozzle N itself is attached to the vehicle body 5 (not shown) via a stay. Furthermore, numeral 9 denotes a defroster garnish and numeral 10 denotes the windshield.
As described above, since the conventional structure of the defroster nozzle N includes a plurality of recesses 4 allowing room for the attachments T of the vehicle body 5 to the instrument panel P, heated air from the heater unit U exits via the five nozzle ports but is lacking over the recesses 4.
Therefore, there arises a problem in that the parts of the windshield 10 over the recesses 4 are not readily defrosted so that the windshield 10 exhibits a serpentine interface between the uncleared, foggy area S and the cleared area, as represented by the solid line of FIG. 6, thus disturbing the driver's view of the outside and requiring an inconveniently long time to defog the entire windshield 10.